Concert Review: The Smashing Pumpkins “Spirits on Fire” Tour

How do you bring out every rock subgenre— every mom and dad that once prayed to Van Halen, every vinyl hoarding die-hard, every saggy-skinned, tattoo-laden metalhead, every Woodstock 99’ wannabe, every thrift store yuppie, self-proclaiming non-conformist— to one place?

You bring The Smashing Pumpkins to town, that’s how. Oh, and early-90s, alternative rock legends, Jane’s Addiction. Oh, and the internet-breaking, viral sensation slash anomaly turned heavy metal artist, Poppy, creator of genre-melting tracks with metal, pop, and pop-punk influences.

I find there to be a beautiful duality in the idea that Miami is a city which can host a sold-out Bad Bunny tour over at FTX Arena, but also welcome The Smashing Pumpkins to a sold-out Hard Rock Live for their “Spirits on Fire” tour. 

Seeing the variety in the sorts of people entering the venue was as diverse as the city it took place in. However, one independent factor ruled supreme: the obscene amount of Smashing Pumpkins merch worn by almost every attendee. In what seemed to be the second-coming of the smiley Nirvana tee, the star-riding Mellon Collie was there in all her Infinite Sadness.

At 6:30 p.m. many of the eventgoers, including ourselves, went to go take our seats. Little did any of us realize that the concert would run on for the next four and a half hours including intermission. Taking everyone in the audience on a wild trip until 11:00 p.m.